Situation Ethics: The Four Working Principles

Vocabulary flashcards covering the four working principles of Situation Ethics—Pragmatism, Relativism, Positivism, and Personalism—along with key related concepts from the student workbook.

Pragmatism

where you make your decision then and there to do what works in the situation, considering the consequences, with success measured by whether it serves agape.

Relativism

rules should be based around the situation and are relative to agape; agape remains the absolute principle while rules serve as 'illuminators not directors'.

Positivism

love is the most important thing and one should act with love because God is love; following religion is seen as a leap of faith where following agape is a matter of the heart, not just the head.

Personalism

people are more important than rules or things, exemplified by the teaching that the Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath (humans come before the law).

Agape

Unconditional Christian love that serves as the central, constant principle in Situation Ethics, to which all moral rules and actions must be relative.